Wadsworth Gymnastics opened their season with an overall 127.4 -109.95 win against Triway High School on December 4. Their top gymnasts, Bri Perkins, and Cami Ross, placed third and fourth all-around respectively.
The gymnasts had to arrive at the school at 3:30 p.m. to prepare for the 6 p.m. meet as they had to set up all of the necessary equipment for the night in the main WHS gym. The equipment is stored in between meets, so the team practices at local gyms to cut back on wasted time setting up during practice.
In order to prepare for this season, the team began practices over the summer, meeting up on Mondays and Wednesdays to get a head start.
The assistant coach, Ally Mangano, who is in her second year of coaching with the high school’s team, believes that starting practices early has helped the team physically warm up for the season.
“I think working out in the summer was helpful for the girls,” Mangano said. “It got them excited for the season, especially the incoming freshman who haven’t competed with us before.”
However, now that the season is in full swing, the gymnasts began having practices five days a week, with three practices devoted to skill building and the other two being allotted for lifting.
Although the team has been working hard, some unavoidable injuries have caused members to take a step back in the preseason.
“We definitely have a lot of injuries right now so we are trying to take it easy to kind of let them cool down so that they can come into the season strong and not worse,” Mangano said.
Beyond practices and meets, the team has also dedicated time in the preseason for team building, which, according to Bri Perkins, senior on the team, has helped them to create a strong bond with one another.
“I like the team feel,” Perkins said. “I feel like everyone gets along with no drama.”
Being her first year competing with the high school team, Perkins is thankful for her support from her fellow teammates.
“Since I just joined for the first time for my senior year of high school I’m really happy that we all support each other and get along well,” Perkins said.
The bond between the teammates is important as the overall team score is calculated based on the highest individual all-around scores from each team.
Overall, both the coaches and gymnasts feel that with their preparation, and successful opening meet, Wadsworth’s gymnastics team is set for a strong season.
